Kane County Health Department Launches Integrated Referral and Intake System to Assist Kane County Residents

This week, the Kane County Health Department (KCHD) launched an Integrated Referral & Intake System (IRIS) to enhance the referral process and connect individuals and families with the resources they need.

The Kane County IRIS community has representation from 66 local organizations in multiple sectors including: mental health & psychiatry, primary care, dental, early childhood services, K12 education, park district programs, adult & juvenile probation, parenting resources, substance abuse services, employment resources, immigration and legal services, emergency shelter, and basic needs (food & clothing).

“With the increased need for resources due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we wanted to do more for the residents of Kane County,” said Anna Czerniak, Children’s Mental Health Program Manager at KCHD. “IRIS allows us to uniquely address the concerns of our residents and coordinate referrals to needed services.”

The process started in 2019 when the AOK (All Our Kids) Network identified the need for a more streamlined referral process and started laying the groundwork to bring IRIS to Kane County. In late 2020, the KCHD decided to implement IRIS through a collaboration between the AOK Network, Kane County System of Care, and the Opioid Task Force. The team gathered community partners to configure the IRIS platform to meet the unique needs of Kane County residents. Together, partners agreed on common referral practices and developed the Community Standards that will dictate expectations of use for all.

The Kane County provider community has worked diligently to ensure that this tool will be widely used to help meet the needs of community members. KCHD will continue to expand the IRIS network, engaging resources across community sectors to support families in our communities.

For more information, contact one of the Kane County IRIS Community Managers: Kim Peterson, Kane County AOK Network Coordinator: petersonkim@co.kane.il.us
Anna Czerniak, Children’s Mental Health Program Manager: czerniakanna@co.kane.il.us
Sophia Ottomanelli, Substance Use Prevention Specialist: ottomanellisophia@co.kane.il.us